I take care of a 1 yo child who I have trouble getting down for good naps. He does not have a favorite toy or blanket (to my knowledge) and does not take a pacifier. He is usually put down at home with a bottle. I would prefer not to do this because I know it is not good for his teeth, but it has been the only way I can get him to sleep. Once asleep he only stays down for 30-60 min tops - wakes up and can't put himself back to sleep even when visably tired.
I am looking for any good ideas you ladies might have as to ways I can help get him to sleep easier and stay asleep longer so he is getting the sleep he needs.
Thanks!
HI! It's really great that you take care of someone else's child. Unfortunately, you can't change a habit that's formed at home. Not unless they want to change it. You can try a bottle of water with just an ounce of juice. Slowly, you can eliminate the juice. If he's only used to formula or milk, there's not much you can do. Good luck!
Give him a "watered down" version of his bottle. Eventually, he will not like it and will wean himself from this habit. Good luck.
Hi,
When I was trying to get my son down without too much cause, I used water in the bottle (dentist's are ok with that). I just used baby steps. Like he went down with water, then I would move it farther away in the crib once he was asleep. Then, once he was asleep, I'd take it out, etc.
Worth a try, good luck!
Hi Elizabeth,
I think the bottle is fine at this point as long as it is milk and not juice. My son never took long naps. 15-30 min. was it. Each kid is different, maybe he will take more than one nap instead of one long one. Good luck with your new business, a lot of work dealing with kids different schedules. Make sure you have good activities for the ones that aren't napping so they don't wake up the ones that do.
Good luck and have fun,
SarahMM
I say talk to the mom about maybe him giving up the bottle anyway, he is one. Him sleeping with it in his mouth if that is what he does can cause choking which as a caregiver I certainly wouldn't want that responsibility. Personally a 1 year old doesn't need a bottle anymore and he is obviously so dependent on it he cannot self soothe. As his caregiver it is totally acceptable for you to offer up friendly helpful advice especially when in fact he is not napping during the day. It is not good for him or helping behavior if he is not sleeping well at your home.
I've watched other people's kids too and what I have come to find out is I'm not the parent and if I am not comfortable doing the things the parents do for routine for their kid, the best thing is to let them find someone else who is. If you are close with the parent you can try talking to them about your concerns and see if they are planning on making any changes but really if they put their kid down with a bottle...it's their kid. So you'll have to either follow what they do, or deal with the shorter naps. not to sound harsh but I felt slapped with that reality several times. twice I have stopped watching other peoples kids and now...I only watch my nephew because I can have those candid conversations with my sister. Good luck hope you can find a happy medium that works for all of you.
I don't know if you are in the place to do this or not,but i would talk with the parent. There should be a consistancy from home and day care. May you can aproach as they are helping you out. Like: "I have trouble getting your child down for a nap. We do not give bottles to one year olds before nap time as they drink during snack/lunch with the other children. do you have an other ideas how we can work together for a solution that is consistant? Here are two ideas I had...." If they falter. repeat that you need to stick to a routine that all te children will be doing and you believe that haveing the same patterns at home and day care is essential for the feeling of security of the child as he grows. then if still not responsive...then come up with t back up plan and say that this is what you will do at school and hope they might try it at home. a lot of times the parents doesn't even know this is going on, or this is something to wory about, etc. So teach them too in a kind manner and direct them gently to your needs. I know a full time working friend of mine had struggled on her end with geting naps done on the wekends. she was baffled and frustrated. I finally asked her if she ever asked her teacher to write down the day care routine and methods for her. she had not. she did and the weekends went os much better once she was doing what the child hd the rest of the week.
Dedicate a quiet time of 2 hours. Your own little boy can participate, too. Have a darkened room with very little noise (maybe a bit of quiet music if it's not distracting). Have a special place just for them to lie down (a bed or cot or mat) and provide a lovey, even if the boy you're tending doesn't have one of his own. The rule isn't that they have to sleep, but that they have to stay on their bed/mat quietly. If one of them is having a hard time sleeping, you may want to read quietly to him, sitting with him on his bed. Use a very quiet voice any time you need to talk to them.
You may want to start with shorter incriments and gradually stretch it out. But keeping him quiet and calm in a mostly dark room should help, and give him some rest, even if he's not sleeping.
Well have you tried some soft music, they sell some that are made just for children. Also you could try just putting water in the bottle. I know that it could make the childs teeth go crooked, but it wont rot them like formul;a does.
The truth about doing child care is that if you do all the right things for the child. The parents will still revert to their old ways. And not really care what you think. I have been in the in and out of home daycare for more than 20 years. It gets even harder when they want help potty training. You just might suggest for them to take him off the bottle and try a sippy. Good luck and god bless
